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When this Havana-born pianist hit the American jazz scene nearly 20 years ago, he was quickly lauded as a prodigious talent and almost as quickly dismissed by many as a note machine. During the course of a dozen albums for Blue Note, Rubalcaba gradually learned to harness his skills and eventually claimed his rightful place among the modern marvels of jazz piano. His splendid, stylish 13th Blue Note release, recorded at Manhattan’s Avatar Studios and featuring a New York-based quintet, finds him in top form, balancing intensity with tenderness and putting his improvisational prowess in service of texture and atmosphere. Saxophonist Yosvany Terry, another Cuban national, proves to be an indispensible ally, contributing three rhythmically vibrant compositions, along with often dazzling horn work. Terry’s “This Is It” and “Hip Side” brilliantly blend groove-heavy post bop with Afro-Cuban vivacity. The group showcases their gentle, elegiac side on an exquisite stroll through the Horace Silver ballad “Peace” and an elegant, wonderfully reserved interpretation of “Preludio Corto No. 2 for Piano,” which sticks to the score written by Cuban composer Alejandro Garcia Caturia. The one Rubalcaba original, “Infantil,” is a playful, fusion-tinged dedication to guitarist John McLaughlin.

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